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A room full of white tables and chairs, typically full of visitors, stood empty Friday night during the American Legion Post 5's weekly chicken and seafood dinner.
To prevent the spread of COVID-19, or the novel coronavirus, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended events with 50 or more people be canceled. On Friday, Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said the state health director will be banning gatherings of 10 or more people.
As a result, many events, including public meals like those typically held at Post 5, have been canceled for the foreseeable future.
Post Commander Jim Rosenberg said they've been hosting a fried chicken and seafood dinner every Friday night for years, in part to raise funds for the operation of the post.
For the first time in years, the post's main room was empty on a Friday night as visitors trickled in and out, collecting their meals of chicken, seafood and sides in to-go boxes instead.
"It's pretty much an icon in the community. We pack the house every Friday," Rosenberg said. "During Lent, on Friday, it's always so much bigger. We know we have a huge following for that, and we didn't want to disappoint too many people in too short a period of time."
As a veteran's organization, Post 5 has a lot of members 60 years old or older who are more vulnerable to the virus. Rosenberg, 60 years old himself, said it's a threat they're aware of.
But with the food for the chicken and seafood dinner - and corned beef and cabbage for their Wednesday night St. Patrick's Day meal - already there, Rosenberg said they decided not to cancel, but they couldn't let people eat in the hall.
"We thought we'd just compromise, that way we don't have to worry about a crowd," he said. "We know things are going to get worse, that's our feeling, so we just decided after this Friday we wouldn't have any more until we revisit the issue at the end of the month."
On Wednesday, the post served its traditional St. Patrick's meal a day late - because of a planned but canceled Tuesday event - and had a lower turnout than they're used to. Between lunch and a two-hour dinner, instead of their typical 150-200, they sold just around 50 meals.
The turnout was similar Friday, with about 25 orders taken out in white styrofoam boxes and plastic bags. The chairs and tables were empty once again.
The dining room may've been empty, but the spirits of the volunteers was high. Laughter and jokes filled the kitchen, and volunteers raced to see who could solve "Wheel of Fortune" puzzles first.
But Rosenberg said the decision to suspend the Friday meals wasn't an easy one.
"We're disappointed, but we would rather err on the side of caution and keep our members and whoever else safe and healthy, than to put them at risk," he said. "It's tough decisions, but it's the decisions that had to be made because everybody has to make them, not just us."
The post has also canceled all events and outside rentals for the rest of the month due to the CDC's recommendations.
"This is an unprecedented situation. We've never seen anything like this before, not in my lifetime, and I'm 60 years old," Rosenberg said. "Some of the older gentlemen were talking about it, that they've never seen anything like it - not here in the U.S. This is something that you just don't have to go through, not on such a broad scale.
"It's tough, and it's tough times. It's not going to get any better for a little bit, and then when it does, it's going to be a slow recovery. It's not going to hurt us to have to go through a little tough times, and it'll make us appreciate the good times that much better."
Post 5 holds the weekly meals in part to raise funds for the club's operations. They'll be losing that source of funding, but Rosenberg isn't concerned yet.
"It won't break us," he said. "We won't let that happen."